Interesting assortment of stories. The first section is a more-or-less chronological series of a war between the humans and the Outs - who have certain powerful advantages, that don't always add up to winning a particular fight. There are several other aliens who show up in the stories, more or less in passing - the "scientists" who explain to the spacers that what they're doing (what the spacers are doing) is actually magic, because they don't know exactly how it works, were particularly striking. The telepathic caterpillars were also interesting. Oh, and one story had a really _bad_ portrayal of a woman - she was (of course, and of her nature) hypnotically seductive and insanely hysterical, and had to be knocked out to save her life and prevent her actions killing everyone else as well. I'm surprised Eric Flint didn't soften that portrayal at least (and if he did, that's horrific - what was the original like?).
Second section is three stories on aliens trying to con their way into conquering Earth. I'd have preferred they not be so close together - they were a little too similar. Which is unfortunate, because each one was excellent and had very individual twists. The last one is very much of a style - humans are best at X (usually, though not always, something to do with war - and nearly always something we don't even notice is important) and the aliens come to ask us to help. Entire military SF series have been based on this...
The third section is assorted stories, without connections between them. This actually showed off Anvil's creativity best - from the 'splat' who produces illusions, to the nearly-invisible silver sphere that's trying desperately to communicate, to the telepathic invasion, to the powerful alien that doesn't trust computers while Terran affairs are being run by one.... All different, all very interesting. And one tiny quibble, that I'd have forgotten about except it was the very end of the book - where's the fun, or even the funny, in having the same face as the statue? They'd only crawl to him more (which he didn't like earlier on) or ignore him, or at most do a doubletake - fun for maybe five minutes. It doesn't sound like much of a vacation to me. But an excellent lot of stories, and now I want to read the rest of his books. ( )

I'm giving The Trouble With Aliens four stars over all. Some of the aliens are humanoid, some aren't. Some are hostile, some aren't.

The War With the Outs:

'The Prisoner' ***1/2 Who is Colonel Gorley and why is his bad advice so eagerly accepted?

'Sellers Market'*** It smells like a trap to our hero and the basis for a horror show episode to me.

'Top Rung'**** What do followers have that their leader doesn't have? Good story for leaders and those who want to lead.

'Symbols'** I'm deducting a star not because the hero annoyed me by how long he took to figure out the obvious solution, but because there's no author apology to 21st Century female readers for his 1966 portrayal of the sole female character. If Mr. Anvil was alive and well enough to rewrite three stories and a new one for this reprint collection, then he could have squeezed out an apology while he was at it.

'Foghead'*****We have our cover story and some of the details are correct. Winning the war depends upon this mission, so of course the information about the planet isn't adequate. It's SNAFU time! I really like the female character in this story. Got a good chuckle out of the end.

'Ghost Fleet'**** A wise colonel, wrongfully accused of cowardice, is offered a suicide mission. Loved his opinion of the execution ceremony he could face.

'Cargo For Colony 6'**** The cargo has a designation above 'Top Secret' and the aliens called 'Flats' may have only pretended friendship. The argument between scientists Netsil and Mansen tickled me.

'Achilles Heel'**** 20% of Earth forces are diverted from the main war to deal with a different alien race that we'd like to make peace with, but how can one negotiate with a people whose weapons make humans fall unconscious and whose soldiers commit suicide rather than be captured?

'Of Enemies and Allies'**** This is the new story and the Outs are unlikely to be fans of it.

Heading left out because it's a massive spoiler:

'The Kindly Invasion'**** The Shaloux come bearing incredible gifts -- are the skeptics wrong?

'Mission of Ignorance'**** The Galactic Emissaries are wondering why Earth's representative is a mere second lieutanant. 2LT Smith is wondering the same thing.

'Brains Isn't Everything'**** Would you accept any gift offered by an alien who sounds like a used car salesman?

The Univited

'The Captive Djinn'**** Is it science or is it sorcery?

'The Univited Guest'**** It's ovoid, it's shiny, it's potentially very deadly -- if only we could figure out why it's there.

'Sabotage'**** The hostile alien attacks are becoming more effective. If not countered, humanity is doomed.

'Mind Partner'**** This new addiction has no known cure and all attempts to shut down the headquarters have proved futile. Jim Calder is being sent in under cover without knowing if the first exposure is sufficient to make one an addict.

'A Question of Identity'***** Besides an interesting first contact plot, the satisfying hero v.s. computer subplot is more complex than Captain Kirk's confrontations with computers. I really loved what the hero was thinking about in the last few pages.

'Advance Agent'****1/2 Galactic Enterprises would like a contract with the people of planet Porcyn. So would Trans-Space. Dan Redman is GE's advance agent. Porcyn has limited land space and ways of keeping their population down that make this disabled person grateful to be Terran. Because this was originally published in 1957, I merely shook my head and smiled because the Porcyn children were wearing either skirts or shorts.

At first I wasn't sure I would like this book, but as I read on, I liked the stories better until I was reading eagerly. (I went from reading 42 pages the first day to 202 pages the fourth, and I wouldn't have saved the last two stories for another day if my eyes hadn't been so tired .) Though he may never read this; thank you, stranger whom I met in the science fiction section of the bookstore, for recommending that I buy this title. ( )

A bunch of short stories relating to Aliens, not necessarily within the same universe.

The format is interesting, especially how communications are treated - they are more like telegraphs than anything else. I quite enjoyed the perspectives that seem so implausible today.

If you can get over the generational hurdle, it's quite humorous. ( )

Sample Chapters: http://webscriptions.net/chapters/1416520775/1416520775.htm